Exclusive RocketWerkz interview: How one employee pivoted to Games after Covid killed her career

RocketWerkz :

To pivot your career and industries brings exciting opportunities where we’re seeing not only the creation of new job titles but entirely new roles. The games industry is experiencing this shift as companies evolve and benefit from diversity and transferable skills traditionally outside the sector.

IRM’s latest TrailblaXR, Chrissy Woods, Localization Copywriter talks about her newly formed role at RocketWerkz headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. Woods shares her experience at the self-publishing games studio, her transition out of the Travel industry into Interactive Media and Games – fast becoming one of New Zealand’s high growth sectors.

RocketWerkz, backed by tech giant Tencent was founded in Dunedin by Dean Hall, Chief Executive, creator of DayZ and ex-Bohemia Interactive of Prague in the Czech Republic. Jewel in the crown is ICARUS, a PvE (Player versus Environment) Open World multi-player survival game, taking all worlds by storm and available on Valve Steam.

December 19, 2023

Please explain what your role of Localization Copywriter at RocketWerkz looks like?

This role is a bit of a strange one, the role was made for me so no one really knew what it would look like at the time. My role covers two broad categories – Localization and Writing. I look after our team of translators for ICARUS and assist them with questions regarding context or how a phrase may be used in-game. I also recruit and train new translators when required. The other part of my role is writing and narrative, so I’m essentially the “Guardian of All Text” which I wish was my real job title.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSpZ7gYyeLw]
Icarus: New Frontiers. Gameplay trailer

What are the key qualities, skills and specific software required in this role?

For my role, I’d say you would want great communication skills and patience as you’ll be dealing with people from all walks of life, and many different time zones. I have learned all of my software skills (mainly UE4) on the job as my role only touches text. Many transferable skills apply to this role such as customer service, community management, mentoring, general writing, conflict resolution, and creative writing. This is a role where soft skills are crucial, as most of it is made up of working with other people.

Briefly explain what attracted you to forge a path in the games industry and how you got there?

I fell into Games when Covid killed my 8 year career in the Travel industry. I’d always loved games, my husband has been a game dev for a decade, and I’d seen the industry through his eyes and how exciting it can be. After about 18 months unemployed during the height of Covid, I was offered a position at RocketWerkz as an Assistant Producer which is about as junior as you can get. I didn’t care, I just wanted to get a foot in the door! I was lucky that my skills from working in travel were very transferable to this role and I found great success working in Production, but my real passion had always been in creative writing and narrative. After proving myself in Production I was offered the opportunity to lead the way in this new role where I could utilize my organizational skills with the Localization team, and then also have the opportunity to write when needed for narrative and copy at the studio.

Can you offer advice and tips for those interested in this as a career path?

Don’t be afraid to get into the industry just because you don’t know how to code. That thought held me back for longer than I care to admit and I wish I’d had the courage to jump into the industry sooner. Sometimes the right attitude is more important than a degree.

What support do you feel the games industry should put in place to encourage more women into the industry?

Perception is everything. So often the media portrays our industry as a bunch of dudes wearing hoodies and drinking energy drinks in a dark room. If women don’t see themselves represented in a workplace they aren’t going to want to work there. It’s important to spread the word that there are women working in games and that there are many skills and career paths where you can move sideways into a studio. For example, a lot of women already work in Marketing. You can take that to a studio! Every person in a studio is a Game Dev, not just the programmers.

What have been your standout successes throughout your career in games, and what challenges, if any, have you faced along the way?

The proudest moment of my career so far was the release of New Frontiers (an expansion for ICARUS), as it was the first time I’d had a piece of creative work published for the world to see.

When I first joined RocketWerkz we went into lockdown quite literally the day before I started. I ended up working remotely for the better part of a year, so when I finally did come into the office I didn’t recognise anyone which was very awkward. All I could do was listen to their voice and see if I could recognize it from our Discord calls because no one uses their real face as their profile picture. Hilarity ensued. I was mortified, it took me a long while to feel like part of the team because everyone else already knew each other well, whereas I hadn’t had the chance to socialize or meet people in person by that point.

I also deal with imposter syndrome A LOT. Often being the only woman in the room during a meeting, and not being a programmer, I feel out of place and like my experience doesn’t carry as much weight as these men who have been coding games for years. But, then I spend half an hour fixing programmer spelling mistakes and I remember that I do have skills that they don’t.

How important are ICARUS characters and storytelling to the games success and to keep gamers engaged? Please share examples.

In the base game we didn’t have much room to tell our stories, it was mainly environmental storytelling with text and easter eggs hidden around the place or via dialogue from our one character, Sol. With the release of New Frontiers, we had an opportunity to expand this and create a series of chained story missions, in which we introduce new characters to our players and the world of ICARUS. We have had great feedback from our players regarding these missions, and they want more! We even have a channel in our public Discord server called Lore-Conspiracies because people love to do deep dives into the world that we’ve built and make their own theories on how the world works or what motivations each faction has. It’s wonderful to be a part of.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxruu8k9KhQ&t=20s]
RocketWerkz weekly Twitch live stream

What brings ICARUS fans back for more?
ICARUS has evolved over the years into a game with multiple modes so there’s something for everyone. Our team has been delivering weekly, yes WEEKLY, updates since launch, so there’s always something new to do or discover each week.

ICARUS is available in several languages – how do you ensure consistency in order to stay true to the original game narrative and brand?

We have a rulebook/style guide for our translators on what we translate and what we leave in English for consistency and ease of use for Google searches etc. For example, we generally keep Brand names, Faction names, and Alien Creature names in English as they may not have a direct translation in another language. We also have between five to ten translators per language at any given time, so they check each other’s work for errors and inconsistencies.

How do you adapt content so it is understood by different cultural audiences?

Our content for ICARUS is based on the joy of exploration and making your mark on the planet. These simple values can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of their language.

Everyone’s talking about Generative AI and ChatGPT to expedite workload. Are these technologies useful in Copywriting for game development?

These tools can be useful for kicking through writer’s block, or for getting some writing prompts, but I often find that it doesn’t save me as much time as it may for someone working in programming for example. Because of the nature of my work, I find that the AI just can’t replicate the specifics that I am looking for and so it is often quicker to just do it myself. However, it can be useful for rewriting something that I have written but feel isn’t quite up to scratch or isn’t the right tone. If I give it specifics to start with then 8/10 times it can improve it for me, but man, some of the stuff it spits out is ridiculous sometimes! I generally only turn to AI if I’m desperate or in a writing funk.

Are there some final words you’d like to share?

It’s never too late to make a change in your career. Change is good for you, change is important! Often the most exciting opportunities will also scare the s**t out of you, that’s a good thing! It means you care. Don’t be afraid to try new things and if you do fail, chalk it up to a learning experience and give it another go.

Image Credits: RocketWerkz

About Instinctively Real Media

Instinctively Real Media is an award-winning global Marketing, PR and Creative agency headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, founded in 2020 by Siobhán Hofma. The company is uniquely placed for global marketing and communications across industry sectors of games, Media and Entertainment, motion capture, live immersive experiences, real-time animation, digital humans and virtual characters, training & simulation and high-performance technologies. TrailblaXR B2B service amplifies and connects service providers with new projects and showcases investment-ready brands. During Siobhan’s 10 year tenure she led at IKINEMA, a UK software firm specialising in real-time animation and motion capture; the company was acquired by Apple, Inc. in 2019.

Siobhán’s career portfolio includes Animatrik, AltspaceVR, Digital Domain, Epic Games, Framestore, Google Stadia, Globo, Gree, Linden Lab Sansar, LiveSwitch, Lockheed Martin CHIL, MANUS, Microsoft Studios, NASA Hybrid Reality Lab, NVIDIA Holodeck, Pixotope Technologies, Shocap Entertainment, Sumo Digital, Tencent NExT, The Void, Xsens and many more.

For more information, please visit the Instinctively Real Media website.

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